VILLA PARK – Ramon Chaves has a list of hobbies for his free time away from the football field.
He likes watching movies, snowboarding, going to the beach and bodysurfing.
However, during the football season, there isn’t much time for off-the-field activities, because Chaves is rarely off the field.
Chaves is a senior running back and linebacker for Villa Park, and he’s excelling at both positions.
“He’s on the field the whole game,” Villa Park coach Dusan Ancich said. “We limit him on special teams … We try and rest him as much as we can on offense, but if it’s a big play, he’s on the field, so no, he doesn’t get a lot of rest.”
Chaves’ stats prove how busy he is on the field.
He’s Villa Park’s leading rusher (788 yards, 15 touchdowns) entering Friday’s CIF-SS Southwest Division game against La Habra. On defense, he’s a difference-maker, recording 89 tackles, nine tackles for loss, five sacks and he’s forced two fumbles.
Chaves is getting interest from Cal Poly SLO for offense and Sacramento State for defense.
“I don’t mind playing both sides of the ball,” he said. “I love constantly hitting and you have to want to hit, playing these two positions.
“I’m not 4.4 guy but I feel like I can bring my speed and velocity as a big running back. Most backs that are 205 pounds are like thick and stocky, I’m a little taller. I think I’m faster on defense.”
Chaves didn’t take up football until he was in the sixth grade. His first position was on the offensive line before moving to his current spots in the eighth grade.
His first love was baseball, starting when he was six. He made the decision to give up the sport as a sophomore, focusing solely on football.
“I think in high school, or even in college, if you’ve been a starter three years in a row at your same spot, you’re almost like a coach,” Ancich said. “He has the experience, he’s played in playoff games, he knows our (defensive) adjustments. He’s definitely reliable.”
For a program that has had some standout two-way players in the past, Chaves has done his part to fit right in.
He said he drew from some of those greats in the past.
“Louis Vecchio, he was a big mentor to me during my sophomore year,” he said. “He would get in my face. Meki Tafuna, I looked up to when I was a freshman.
“It is weird to see the big guy (on the team) your freshman year and now that’s me.”
Chaves received some playing time as a freshman, including getting on the field in the CIF-SS Southwest Division final that year.
“It was amazing experience,” he said. “I only got to play one play, but that kind of made my whole year.”
His first full year as a starter came as a sophomore. He rushed for 247 yards and recorded 90 tackles with four sacks.
“It was a big step from freshman, when I was playing with the big boys to sophomore when I was primarily an outside linebacker,” Chaves said. “Toward the end of that year I moved to middle linebacker, that was a big challenge for me and I knew I had to start getting faster.
“Last year, I had some experience under my belt and it showed because I knew the game better. Now, I know the entire defensive scheme and offensive scheme and I’ve developed into a better player.”
His performance certainly backed that up. He rushed for 805 yards with 16 touchdowns and recorded 84 tackles with 10 tackles for loss.
Chaves said toward the end of his sophomore year, he could sense the coaching staff had trust in him to run the defense.
“They had the trust in me to call out the defensive blitzes,” he said. “And maybe sometime call out my own blitzes.
He earned All-CIF and first team all-league honors last year, setting the stage for another big year as a senior.
“He knows what he’s doing on defense,” junior linebacker John Stamos said of Chaves. “He makes a lot of plays and he knows where to be.”
Where Chaves wants to be after tonight’s game is headed back to the finals, because he’s much better than the freshman that took the field in the 2012 finals.
Contact the writer: dcalhoun@ocregister.com
